DIY Gretchen Jones Necklace

A couple of months ago, while visiting New York, we met the lovely Gretchen Jones and were fortunate enough to spend an entire day crafting in her über charming Brooklyn apartment. Not only is she amazingly talented and fascinatingly storied, Gretchen is one of the most humorous and genuine people we’ve gotten to know.

After raiding a local hardware store for supplies and hardware, we spread out over her workspace, and whipped up several pieces of jewelry while sharing anecdotes. One of our favorite pieces was a necklace inspired by the honeycomb Universe necklace from Gretchen’s collection. With some brass rings, neon cording and a clever trick courtesy of Ms. Jones, this bold statement necklace is a cinch to DIY! (PS scroll down for the giveaway details!)

You’ll need:

Start by laying out a pattern. Even though we ultimately changed the pattern, it’s a good idea to take a photo for reference.

Line up two brass rings. Cut a 12 inch piece of cord and connect the two rings by wrapping around them 4-5 times.

Pull tightly and tie into a double knot. Trim the ends.

Now for the crafty trick – take a lighter and burn the tips of the knot until the nylon starts to melt. Then immediately press the bottom of the lighter against the melted tips onto the backside of the wrapped cord, sealing the knot.

The first section is complete. Align another ring and repeat the process.

Continue to add more rings, wrapping each connecting section . . .

When the pendant of the necklace is finished, cut two 40″ pieces of cord. Fold a piece in half, pull the center loop through top of the upper right ring, fold it over the ring, and pull the rest of the cord through the loop.

Repeat the step on the opposite side.

Your necklace is finished! Feel free to experiment with fewer or different sized rings.

Adjust the necklace to your desired length and tie the cords into a double knot.

And now for the GIVEAWAY details: thanks to Gretchen, we’re giving away a pair of her squash blossom earrings! Simply leave a comment, if you’re on Twitter follow Gretchen_Jones and swoon over her weekly accessory snapshots, and a winner will be selected at random on Friday, January 27th. (Sorry, limited to US & Canada residents only. Winner will be announced and contacted by email. Good luck! xx) *** Contest is now closed. Congratulations to Julia T of Denver, Colorado!!

Love Gretchen Jones! Followed her since the beginning and have been smitten with her design aesthetic ever since. Meeting her at Mood was the icing on the cake. Beautiful designs – love love love this as well as the earrings.

love it! thanx for sharing, i am not sure i am gonna use the super neon pink, i would go for a vanilla or black, or something less shinny, however is great and i am just bitching up cause i don’t live in the US and so I cannot participate. =(
xx
anna

When I see something so amazing that turns out to be so frackin simple I want to punch myself for being so daggone limited when it comes to DIY. Amazing. Will have to get over myself and give it a try this weekend.

OMG!!!! I’m OBSESSED with this DIY necklace!!! Ill definitely be making this today after work!!! Im also in love with these squash blossom inspired hoop earrings! They’re so major! I won’t be taking these earrings off anytime soon if I win them!!! 🙂

DIY magic. Gretchen Jones is a southwestern 70’s space age romantic goddess from a realm of ethereal yet classic wild woman roots. Love her jewels & intention, as well as this DIY necklace! Her earrings are something from a futuristic shamanic women..would love to channel that vibe. oxo

I absolutely love this idea- I just saw some cool looking neon nylon cord at the hardware store. Definitely on my DIY to-do list for this month! These earrings are beautiful too- I can see the inspiration from nature through the geometric design 🙂

Those earrings are simply gorgeous! I just discovered your blog and I think it is fantastic. Totally going to be on it every day now. Can’t wait to try this, and to think about other creative ways to use that nylon string trick!

I’m not commenting for the giveaway. I just have to say that the DIY necklace looks like a first grade art project and not a classy look at all. This is one of the few “misses” I’ve seen on Honestly WTF.

Gretchen Jones is my favorite Project Runway designer. I think she’s got style, class, and a truly unique perspective. Would love to meet her someday. And I would be just thrilled to wear her awesome squash blossom earrings!

Earrings are gorgeous! But the necklace – I am good in the kitchen but lack the talent to even concieve something so wonderfully unique. Am glad I saw this earring giveaway on Facebook. I’ll be frequenting this page now!

I have to try this necklace ASAP, I’m obsessed with chunky statement jewelry, but that doesn’t look too heavy for my neck! Perfection! And the earrings…don’t get me started. I’d wear them everywhere and every day!

I’ve been a fan of Gretchen since Ep1 in her season of PR. I’m a big fan of recycling and upcycling and DIY-ing. (Also, my mom was a Jones before she married my Dad). I love her design esthetic and MOXIE.
So…. that you for sharing this DIY. I’m pinning it on Pinterest, and I plan to make my version.http://pinterest.com/saintsalvage/
I hope to win those killer earrings!

I adore Ms Jone’s jewelry line, it made me happy to see her team up with this blog. Great DIY, I’ve been craving a statement necklace like this for a while now, I will have to try to whip something up sometime soon!

Wow, I hadn’t seen any of Gretchen Jones’ work in a while! I love her African porcupine quill bar-pendant necklace! So inspiring! The squash blossom earrings are gorgeous, I love the geometry of them 😀

hiiiii ! i have to tell ya that this necklace really shocked my life, I totally loved it since I watched the article and I tried to make one, at first i couldn’t find the rings cause i live in latinamerica and there’s no good stores here, but I overcomed the obstacles and finally did mi own replica. I want sooo bad to show you the picture, but I dont know how to communicate with you… write me an email and I’ll send you the pic!!! THANKSS I LOVE YOU. marsellitas@hotmail.com. PS: sorry for the bad english